Begonias: The Gift That Keeps Giving

I dearly love the grays inherent in the pot and leaves set against the gray of the sitting room walls.

This begonia won't stop giving to me. It sends a tall shoot up that I have to cut off, and put in water. And then it roots, and I have to pot it up. Repeat.

Log Cabin Quilt: Rose Window

Clara and I created this quilt for a friend of hers who is getting married next week. We hurried to get it done, then we ran out of perle cotton thread and had to wait for more to arrive. Still, we are getting much faster altogether.

 "I will open for you the windows of heaven and poor out for you a blessing until it overflows."

The Last Hydrangea Painting of the Year

One of the very last sprigs left on the bush.

I Got All Boho in the Sewing Room

I started with a little 70s-style needlepoint of a fruit basket. It went from there.

The back has got a pocket from a dress.

Shop here!

"Glamorous Women Are Walkers"

" . . . Most glamorous women I know are walkers; they have made walking a pleasant habit and part of their busy lives for which they always find the time. And notice how each of them has developed an unforgettable graceful walk . . . Walking preserves health and lengthens life . . .Walking--free striding, free-swinging, rhythmic, unhurried and unharried walking--is the perfect aid to [everything]."

--Gayelord Hauser, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An Invitation to Beauty [1960]

The Lantana Was a Good Choice

In June I filled in a couple of holes in my front planters with lantana volunteers that had sprung up in my big circle flower bed. Now each plant is about five feet across and hosts a constant kingdom of moths and butterflies. Also the blooms are nonstop and number in the hundreds.

Daisy Shows Dulcie

A Very Full Day of Rabbits

Meat pen competition.

So much suspense.

And then a very good placement!

She also showed her Dutch, some mini-satins, and competed in showmanship--and won the big purple rosette there, a dream come true.

Her friend Laney is more about chickens than rabbits. Her turn comes tomorrow.

First We Shave a Goat

Daisy is gearing up for the county fair, where she will be fully engaged showing chickens, rabbits, and Dulcie (see above), as well as serving as a Fair Ambassador for 4H, which means she will assist with a horse show, a hog show, chicken and rabbit check-ins, etc.

 It boggles my mind that three years ago she was a wondering, big-eyed little girl gazing admiringly at the fair exhibits, and now she's wearing cowboy boots and helping run the world.

The Gardenias Bloom Again

In the crazy-but-delightful column, the gardenias are blooming again. These are stolen flowers, procured by my painting teacher for a session in the studio. 

Hobby Lobby is carrying canvases primed with black, and I used one to see what would happen.  I'll share when I've finished the painting.

Good Work

We hosted a long-planned weekend that started Friday, and included an extended cast of young adult friends of the family. Some slept here, some at the Stone House, some at The Meadows with Molly and Felix. We ate together, prayed together, worshipped together, and worked together (painting, gardening, mulching, etc.) And talked together!

From Friday dinner to this morning's brunch, I calculated that I served 140 meals. Fortunately, this evening, when we were on our own, there were plenty of leftovers.

My Secret Library

Sometimes I dream that there's a room in my house, or a building downtown, that I've never seen before. It's always a wonderful space, full of inspiration and creative potential.

It feels like I've found one in real life. You know, every day I take Daisy to town for half an hour of practice on the pipe organ at an old brick church. Last week I realized that there is an empty library room right there, with a big empty table, big windows full of sunlight and flowers, and absolute silence. I have pulled my notebook of poems out and gotten busy.

A dedicated time and place? That works.

First Day with Lily

We did our first day of dog-sitting baby Lily and everything went SO well. She's much better behaved than any puppy I have known. I was cracking up at how soundly she slept when she finally crashed for a nap. I vacuumed about two feet from her head here.

A Consistent August Palette

Today Clara's embroidery project exactly matched the flowers on the dining table.

Five Photos of a Collie Puppy

Felix and Molly have acquired a collie puppy named Lily.

She'll be staying with us on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

We've never had a dog around, but Daisy is fully in love.

Can't think why.

An Electric Beauty

We've loved our manual typewriter in the past, but I was recently given something that outshines them all--an early electric model. Its awesomeness stems from the fact that the mechanism is still an individual key coming up and hitting the paper with a nice report--but it's POWERED. So crisp. So fine. Such a snap. And you can type really fast without the keys tangling. It's a dream.

This very machine was used for decades in the office of a teeny-tiny railway line that served our town and one town over. Back and forth, just the two end-stops. And now it's mine, thanks to the railway manager's daughter, who is a painting studio friend.